A Fading Flame
by HellFighter
Summary: A story and poem intertwined about Haldir and his last moments at Helms Deep. Basically a lament. R+R please!


A Fading Flame  
Gah, I'd just finished this poem when it dawned on me that Haldir has dark  
eyes and not blue ones. Sorry 'bout that. It still sounds good and other  
elves do have blue eyes anyway. Haldir's unique I guess! Enjoy anyway ^_^  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The flame is fading  
Deep in those sapphire eyes  
Skin drained of its color  
Silver hair tossed by the wind  
For fighting for both Elf and Men  
Stands Haldir of Lorien.  
Upon aged, jagged walls  
Stand warriors of old and young  
Of Elf and Men  
Because under the darkened skies  
The Battle of Helm's Deep is to begin.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------  
Haldir sternly surveyed the area and those set to battle in it. He had  
brought with him a fine Elven army to help the people of Rohan. 10,000 uruk-  
hai would be no easy match. The guardian of Lothlorien shook his head sadly  
as he watched the citizens preparing for battle. Most of them were too  
young to suffer war, let alone handle a sword properly! His keen eyes  
spotted Legolas and Gimli in the distance, trying on chain mail to protect  
their bodies once the battle began. A smile graced his strong features as  
Gimli tried on a suit that made him look like he was ready for a ball, not  
a fight! Just then, a rumble tore through the skies and rain began to fall.  
However, this was not what caught Haldir's and those around him their  
attention. The uruk-hai had arrived.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
-----------------  
A cry of a crownless king  
Echoes through the wind  
Twisting into words of the Elves  
As they prepared to charge into darkness  
Taste victory, or fall in shadow.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
-----------------  
Haldir ordered his archers to fall into line across the wall, the men of  
Rohan standing ready near the back. The captain of the guard let his gaze  
wander across the scene, briefly falling onto Legolas and his dwarven  
companion as they stood, soaking wet, next to a grim looking Aragorn. Once  
again a rare smile flitted onto Haldir's pale face at another one of  
Gimli's antics. He could not even see over the wall and was being teased by  
the Prince of Mirkwood. Haldir's mind played on the thoughts of how they  
could possibly be laughing at a time like this. He soon drifted out of his  
thoughts and joined his fellow kin in line. The uruk-hai army were drawing  
ever closer. Aragorn's voice called out in both Elvish and the common  
tongue, telling the archers to prepare to fire. Haldir felt a wave of anger  
jolt through his lean body. Wasn't that his job? Suddenly, an arrow flew  
out a few men down. A Rohan boy had released an arrow without command! It  
struck an uruk-hai in the throat, bringing it down. A silence swept over  
the battlefield until the other uruk-hai started hammering their weapons  
off of the ground in a fearsome battle cry. The battle had begun!  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
-----------------  
Metal to metal  
Blade to blade  
One beast down, then another  
And in turn the foul orc blades  
Pierce the eleven skins that bear no age.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
----------------  
Thunder roared in the skies and lightning illuminated the ground as the  
sound of sword meeting sword screamed out in the cold, biting air. Haldir,  
Legolas and many of the other elves had long ago used up their arrows and  
now were battling with swords or twin knives. Gimli cried out as he rammed  
down two uruk-hai, shattering their bones with his heavy axe.  
"I've killed two!" The dwarf cried out  
"I've killed seventeen!" Legolas responded, laughing.  
Haldir, flushed and drenched to the bone, gritted his teeth as he wrenched  
his sword out of another creature's skull. The uruk-hai were big, strong  
and fought dirty. There were also a number of orcs that had found their way  
to Helm's Deep, joining their mutated brethren in fighting. However, they  
had mostly been taken out from the first wave of arrows Haldir's men had  
fired from the walls. The elf nimbly jumped over the various ravaged  
bodies, cutting off two uruk-hai heads in the process. Fear compressed  
itself in Haldir's stomach as he took a second to scan the battle. The  
combined forces of Men and Elves were not enough and they were losing.  
He called out to Aragorn, fighting not so far away, demanding a retreat.  
The Ranger nodded in agreement and aided his long time friend in calling  
their fighters back, beckoning them to Hornburg Courtyard's gate. They  
abandoned their fights and started sprinting towards the gate, some  
slipping on the wet ground and others falling over bloodied bodies. The  
majority of them had made it there when Haldir had started towards it. It  
was at that moment something he never could have expected happened.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
--------------  
The raging battle seems endless  
Lives taken by steel and fire  
Uruks, Men and Elves lay slain  
And finally our Marchwarden falls  
A slash up his arm, a sword in his back.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
--------------  
Haldir cried out as a grotesque orc slipped passed his defenses, cutting  
him up the inside of his arm and severing an artery. The creature let out a  
wail, half screech and half growl, yet it sounded almost like a laugh. It  
was mocking him. Haldir yelled out in anger and pain, burying his blade  
into the creatures chest. The pain tearing up his arm was too much and his  
fine Elven sword slipped out of his grip, clattering unceremoniously to the  
floor. The injured elf studied his wound, blood flowing freely from it.  
That's when the real pain hit. Seeing Haldir's lowered defense, an  
exceptionally big uruk-hai crept up on him, forcing it's gigantic sword  
into the top of his back between his shoulder-blades, before cutting  
downwards to the middle of his back. Haldir gave out a strangled cry, the  
pain so intense yet almost no sound coming out. He felt his bones snapping  
under the pressure, his muscles ripping and his blood pooling out onto the  
floor. The handsome elf began to fall, vaguely aware of someone wasting the  
uruk that attacked him before catching him in his arms before he fell. He  
opened his already bleary eyes. It was Aragorn. Haldir could feel the blood  
welling up in his mouth, trickling out the corners of his mouth and his  
taste buds overwhelmed by the coppery taste. He gave the mortal a weak but  
grateful smile, letting him lower him gently to the ground. Aragorn held  
back tears, watching his dying friend for a few seconds. Before he left, a  
ragged whisper escaped his lips.  
"Rest in peace, my old friend."  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
-------------  
Time is halted in its tracks  
The world becomes a blur  
Angelic voices whisper in his ears  
As his pain is dulled to nothing  
Echoes of the past flash around him  
Only to be swallowed by darkness.  
He sees no more  
He hears no more  
He lives no more  
He fears no more.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------  
Deep in the forests of Lothlorien, Galadriel lifted her elegant head to the  
night-time sky. She watched one star burn brightly, before fading to  
nothing.  
---  
The flame is fading  
Deep in those sapphire eyes  
Skin drained of its color  
Silver hair tossed by the wind  
For fighting for both Elf and Men  
Stands Haldir of Lorien  
---  
The flame has faded  
Deep in those sapphire eyes  
Skin drained of its color  
For the battle is over for one  
Because under Helms Deep bloodened skies  
Is where the Marchwarden of Lorien lies.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
--------  
  
*sniffles* Review please! 


End file.
